the person (a dog thinks) you are

the person (a dog thinks) you are 

Assuming he was not run over by a speeding truck the previous night, he wakes up at day break and stretching himself trots off . No Morning ablution,  No brushing of teeth or Pooja.

His inbuilt instincts guides him like a GPS to the tea shop  a kilometre away where  he always succeeds  in  enticing  a compassionate soul by standing before him with baleful eyes  and wagging tail. And sure enough, a piece of Bun or a biscuit is tossed at him.

Having staved off early morning hunger pangs the stray Goes on a recce to the far end of the locality & thereafter takes a peaceful siesta on a  sand dump  by the roadside. When a dozen noisy mongrels arrive, the protagonist knows it will be lunch time shortly.

Before leaving the warm sand he doesn’t forget to socialize with the group:  Diving  & bouncing  around the sand, tumbling over one another , squealing  and howling.  The   prancing stops abruptly and the gang scampers away. 

For lunch, the stray   will seek out a non-vegetarian hotel preferably,in the crowded  mutton market lane  behind the vegetable market  where   chicken or mutton scraps are usually thrown  out in the open or into a cylindrical Concrete ring  acting as garbage bin.  The stray is assured of a good meal. Of course, he has to use all his fighting skills & survival instincts to outsmart rag pickers, tramps and members of his own kind   who arrive in hordes to grab  some rich nutrition.

Thanks to the municipality, there are any number of drinking water fountains and puddles from leaky pipes available in the vicinity.

After a clash with other mongrels , which our hero regularly wins, he  enjoys the  drink and occasionally a shower if he feels inclined . Thereafter he wanders  around the city’s localities  till late evening.

At  night , the dog arrives at one of the late night mobile kitchen (Biryani vans)  parked on the footpath at  strategic points. Before   they  close  shop around midnight  the remaining unsold food is emptied on  the   road side. While  rival  mongrel gangs are busy snarling and scratching each other, our stray makes the most of the situation &  gobbles as much as he can.

The water used to clean the large vessels and  the van forms a puddle of  what  can be loosely termed as  the Dog`s equivalent of  beer. And our  tipsy hits the sack …God knows where. .Tomorrow will be another day, unless some sozzled truck driver prefers to use his favorite ”right” of way   

 

I have never cared to observe   how a Dog (a stray at that) leads its life earlier  . But, Now …….  I shudder at the thought.

In retrospect …this looks  similar to  my grind  : Appealing to public administrators & flunkies  for trivial clearances , wrangling over petty procedural issues, terms & inevitable  “peace” agreement & doing chores that I detest, for that occasional  show  of empathy  to  get on the  good side of the clan  (read spouse).

 am I having a Dog`s life? …..Or am I ?

 

 

Philosophy & Rustic relief

 Philosophy & Rustic relief

There are times  when we try  to recollect  that moment and  situation in which we  experienced frustration. Often  it would     be some occasion  when stagnation set in. Frustration  normally strikes  only when  one’s life stands still.

“progress stimulates , stagnation frustrates” seems to be the universal law of human character.        

  Surprisingly HOPE – or precisely the lack of it,  is another factor   that frustrates a person

Comparison is a (Dreadful?) skill  which infuses  frustration.  Brooding over   past  contributions & successes inevitably leads to relating it  with current achievements, or privileges of others instigating  despondency to scream from   rooftops of the mind. Weighing current ineptitude against the earlier effortlessness in handling events also makes one feel  deprived

However sitting alone and remembering the times when everything went so smoothly &  recalling the minutest details of all those previous occasions when things would  never go wrong instills a glimmer of purpose. Optimism  surfaces and the sense of dejection  dips.

 Entertaining  thoughts  aimed at   insulating  oneself  helps  blocking turbulence  from  entering  the mind that has endured sporadic bouts of indecisiveness.

 Well thought out  concepts based on inputs & reactions of basic senses are well worth  trying and ensures  reduced trauma .

Presenting  three of my impressions which  I feel  will to reduce frustration.

Modifying   attitude towards Speed:

 Always being in a hurry not quite knowing where we’re heading towards but still  aspiring  to arrive early is a peculiar  habit.

 Altering    attitude towards  speed by beginning to believe   that every incident  in life will  happen only at a definite time not necessarily based on our Speed;  slow or fast may  improve the situation.

   “Slow-cycling” competition was  one of the favourite sport during our school days . The one who finished last  (the slowest) was the winner . Unfortunately  there were very few takers for such  sports now. But the unique characteristic of the sport  presents a whole new meaning in the present circumstances.

Increasing  stress-bearing capacity:

No two persons will respond identically when they encounter  similar crises . While one with  significantly less stress-bearing capacity frets & fumes the other, who is not much bothered about the effects will  usually breeze through  the situation

 And finally  distractions:

  over exposing oneself  to screen time &  social media prompts  to  distract from bouts indecision  can be hazardous.   Most of the contents  are highly ideological, quixotic  & impractical  in nature. Dread to even think that  someone my age can  submit to the constant bombarding of  artificially glittering thoughts which can leave  a trail of harmful “frustration”  viruses in the mind, To eliminate the distraction multiple sessions of  meditation can  replace screen time .

Frustration is a dreadful affliction. Whatever the reason one needs   relearn how to live beyond the malady .

  The above three strategies are  worth experimenting with . Just giving  it a try and waiting to see if the one above deems me fit to be struck by some  miracle .

 

Confession:

Before you start  guessing reasons and come to conclusions  about  this sudden flash of आत्म मन्थनम् ( introspection) and  apparent  spiritual  ज्ञानम् (“Gyan” or enlightenment) , let me confess that    epic spirit shattering  “rest room exertions ” Agony &  logistical challenges can bring out  answers to the  conundrum  clogged  in the depths in  even the "spiritually dense" lacking in solemn wisdom,  who  live in  eternal hope that on the other side of every obstacle lies a clear path !